BJP holds protests near Kejriwal’s house over ‘Purvanchalis’, ‘fake’ voter registrations

New Delhi, Jan 10 (PTI) The Delhi BJP held a protest on Friday against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging that it made “fake” claims about registration of voters from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand in the electoral rolls ahead of the Delhi assembly polls.

Hundreds of protesters holding placards like “Purvanchal Virodhi Kejriwal” raised slogans against AAP convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, with some attempting to breach the security barricades near his residence.

Slogans such as “Litti chokha khayenge, Kejriwal bhagayenge”, “Chhathi Maiya ki jai” and “Purvanchal Virodhi Kejriwal murdabad” echoed during the protest.

Residents in Delhi from UP, Bihar and Jharkhand are referred to as ‘Purvanchalis’.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, “Arvind Kejriwal has always insulted the Purvanchali community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made several objectionable statements, and now he has referred to them as ‘fake voters’.

“We will not forget this insult and neither will the people of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. This betrayal will also remain etched in the memory of Delhiites,” the MP from North East Delhi said.

Kejriwal on Thursday had accused the BJP of manipulating the electoral rolls by registering “fake” voters from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in his New Delhi constituency ahead of assembly polls.

A protester, speaking to PTI, said, “Purvanchalis have been called fake voters. This anger will not subside until we remove Kejriwal from here.”

Another protester said, “He (Kejriwal) has humiliated us. During Anna Hazare’s movement, he used us and made us endure police lathis. And now, he is calling us fake voters.”

During the protest, the demonstrators attempted to breach security barricades and move closer to Kejriwal’s residence.

However, the police used water cannons to disperse the crowd and prevented them from advancing further.

According to police officials, more than 20 protesters were detained for demonstrating without valid permission.

“They were bundled into police buses and taken to different police stations,” a senior police officer said.

Reacting to the BJP’s protest, AAP stated that Kejriwal and the party have consistently honoured the Purvanchali community by appointing its members as ministers, MPs and MLAs, and by constructing hundreds of Chhath ‘ghats’ to support their traditions.

“In stark contrast, the BJP has insulted the Purvanchalis by labelling them as ‘Rohingya-Bangladeshi’ and orchestrating efforts to delete their votes,” the party’s statement read.

The AAP government, it said, has worked tirelessly to uplift the Purvanchalis by installing water and sewer pipelines, improving education and strengthening healthcare in unauthorised colonies where many members of the Purvanchal community reside.

On the other hand, the BJP, despite holding immense power with all seven MPs, has failed to deliver anything meaningful for them in over a decade, the statement said.

In a formal complaint to the Election Commission, Kejriwal raised concerns over applications for the addition of 13,000 new voters between December 15 and January 8.

Addressing the media after lodging the complaint, Kejriwal said, “Apparently many of these voters have been brought in from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other neighbouring states to create fake voter registrations. This manipulation undermines the election process.”

Kejriwal’s remarks sparked an immediate backlash from the BJP with party leaders condemning his comments.

Elections for the 70-member Delhi assembly are scheduled on February 5. Votes will be counted on February 8.